30 July 2006

shortwave summary: jul 2006 (part 4)

Here's a couple more receptions to finish out the month of July. I think in the future I should spend less time copying down the major news that everyone already knows about. These receptions were done with my Sony ICF SW7600GR.

* 19 Jul 2006, 0400 UTC, 6080 khz (China Radio International): Indonesia is being evacuated as the death toll from the recent tsunami reached 300, and is expected to rise. Several UN organizations are on their way to affected parts of Indonesia. China's economy grew 10.9% in the first half of 2006. China's economy is keeping pace with the world. Israel has not ruled out negotiations as a resolution to its conflict with Hezbollah. Israeli bombing continued in Lebanon on Tuesday. The Hezbollah leader claims that they will never surrender. Hezbollad hit Israel with rocket fire. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis are in underground shelters. 82 Chinese citizens have been evacuated from Lebanon into Syria. They are employees of Chinese firms and tourists from Hong Kong.

198 people died in China from floods caused by tropical storm Bilis. Beijing is hosting a meeting to discuss security in the Asia/Pacific region. New drinking water standards are being developed. China's original drinking water quality standards were developed in 1985 before most of the industrial development that has polluted drinking water sources. China's biggest bank lender will go public on the Hong Kong stock market. Smuggled dinosaur fossils that were discovered in a Long Beach, California warehouse are being returned to China.

A top Chinese military official traveled to the USA to meet with Donald Rumsfeld to discuss military cooperation. (Anything about fighter jets, perhaps? See below.) The UN is working on a draft resolution to urge Iran to stop uranium enrichment. Iran continues to be defiant. Increased enrollment at Chinese universities has decreased the quality of education. A production of The Lion King recently opened for 100 shows in Shanghai. Chinese schoolgirls are pursuing cosmetic surgery costing several thousand dollars, in order to look like models and movie stars. Beijing weather: cloudy, overcast, 23-30C (73-86F). CRI has been broadcasting for 60 years and started as a wartime station broadcasting from a cave.

"China Horizons" show. Ancient allleyways of Beijing. A composer from Switzerland wrote a chamber music piece in honor of a Chinese city. A Chinese temple that is from 495 AD was the birthplace of a form of martial arts. Zen buddhism consists of long periods of meditation, and martial arts help ease the effects of sitting still during meditation.

* 23 Jul 2006, 0200 UTC, 5950 khz (Radio Taiwan International): President Chen Shui-Bian vows to stay in office despite the controversy of his son-in-law's insider trading indictment. The insider trading was not committed by the president. A political analyst was interviewed and said "That is not the way you change presidents in a democracy... The real scandal is our press... The press goes after sensationalism."

China warns the USA not to sell fighter jets to Taiwan. Such a deal would impact regional security, according to China. Taiwan has a possible deal for 66 jets. China has repeatedly threatened to invade Taiwan.

Taiwan imported US$189 million worth of scotch whiskey in 2005, and was the world's fifth largest whiskey importer. Sunday weather for Taipei: cloudy with afternoon showers, 29-34C (84-93F). During the Taipei Magazine show, a man from Eastern Europe who has lived in Taiwan since 1975 was interviewed. He witnessed Taiwan's transformation from dictatorial regime to democracy. He observed that today, dissidents in China are able to speak without being silenced, although nobody expected it. I think his name sounded like Dr. E.F.I.Haun. If RTI writes back to me to give me the correct name, I will add it here.

One of the harder parts of logging a broadcast, especially from Asian countries, is spelling a name correctly. I tried to look up this name online, but I did not have specific enough details.

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What can you find when you tune in radio stations from hundreds or thousands of miles away? The Cobalt Pet shortwave and mediumwave weblog (or blog) is an English-language site featuring shortwave reception reports, product reviews, photos, tips, radio news, DXing discussion, and links. Articles focus on international broadcasters, utility stations, amateur / ham radio, mediumwave (AM broadcast band), and portable radio receivers. Readers are invited to leave feedback and ask questions.